Morgan Conservation District receives noxious weed grant

The Colorado Department of Agriculture awarded Morgan Conservation District a grant in 2013 to eradicate purple loosestrife along the South Platte River. This grant amounted to $4,000.

Purple loosestrife is designated as "List A" species on the Colorado Noxious Weed Act. It is required to be eradicated wherever found in the state.

Purple loosestrife is an ornamental plant for gardens that has gone "wild". It can be found along riverbanks, ditches and wet meadows. Infestations rapidly replace native vegetation. Purple loosestrife will then impede water flow in in ditches and canals. It has little wildlife habitat value.

This noxious weed produces by seed and a single, mature plant can produce up to three million seeds per year. These seeds can remain viable in the soil for 5 to 20 years. Pieces of roots or stems also can produce multiple four-sided stems that can grow two to eight feet tall. Leaves are two to five inches long and lance-shaped. Flowers are tightly grouped in long, vertical heads; they bloom from the bottom up. They are reddish-purple in color, about one inch long, and have five to seven petals. Flowers will appear from late June through September.

To eradicate purple loosestrife the flowerheads need to be cut and disposed of. After the flowerheads are cut the plant needs to be sprayed with Glyphosate or Rodeo (an aquatic version of Roundup).

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Morgan Conservation District works on eradication of purple loosestrife

Conservation district staff along with the Colorado Department of Agriculture began work on purple loosestrife in late August. In previous years there had been two large infestations of purple loosestrife discovered along the banks of the South Platte River that had nearly 1,000 plants in each site. In 2012, conservation district staff had cut flowerheads and sprayed the plants at both sites. After the work was done last year the infestation of purple loosestrife has lessened, but there are still large sites that need worked.

This year the crew floated 25 miles of the South Platte in Morgan County. There were eight single plants discovered and then eradicated. The large infestation had decreased in size from the work done in 2012. More work was done on the eradication of these sites.

Questions have now arisen across the weed community about the aftereffects of the September flooding. The conservation district plans on floating the South Platte several times this summer to keep abreast of the new plant growth and any noxious weeds that have not reared their ugly head in Morgan County in the past.